A Trip Through Sears Roebuck & Co.

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SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO., 1915

guide

① Merchandise Building, ② Tower, ③ West Wings of Merchandise Building, ④ Administration Building, ⑤ Advertising & Printing Building, ⑥ Grocery Annex, ⑦ Paint Factory, ⑧ Wall Paper Mill, ⑨ Factory No. 1, ⑩ Power Plant.

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Chicagology is proud to present the entire set of the fifty stereoscope cards that were sold to flaunt Sears’ new Homan Avenue campus. It is believed that the photos were taken by Fred Conley and James Drake, vice president and general manager, respectively, of the Conley Camera Company, a supplier to Sears. One of the stereo cards from this series is used in later catalogs as an example of an image made with a Conley Model XVIII stereo camera (right). It is known that Conley and Drake traveled to Sears headquarters in Chicago in October, 1906, shortly before this series was released. The cards were first advertised in the 1908 Fall Catalog No. 118 (see page below).

1 Mr. R. W. Sears, President Sears Roebuck & Co.	26 Stenographic Department
2 General View. Sears, Roebuck & Co.	27 The Card Index Department
3 Main Entrance Merchandise Building	28 Counting the Money Received Daily
4 Merchandise Building	29 The Closing Hour
5 Sunken Garden, with the Merchandise Building in the Distance	30 Where the Type is Set
6 The Railroad Yards	31 The Marvelous Type Setting Machines
7 Automatic Machines in the Grocery Department	32 The Electrotype Foundry
8 Watchmaking in the Jewelry Department	33 Where the Big Catalogue is Printed
9 Men’s & Boy’s Clothing	34 A Corner in the Press Room
10 A Few Talking Machine Records	35 Automatic Gathering Machine
11 Packing Goods for Shipment	36 One of Our Automatic Covering Machines
12 Mail, Packing Section of the Shipping Department	37 Catalogue Trimming Machine
13 The Train Shed and Shipping Rooms	38 The Boiler Room in the Power Plant
14 Long Distance Telephone Switchboard	39 The Magnificent Engine Room in the Power Plant
15 Automatic Telephone Switchboard	40 The Great Switchboard in the Engine Room
16 Pneumatic Tube Station	41 Main Dining Room Seroco Restaurant
17 The Great Tunnel	42 The Girls’ Cafeteria
18 On the Street at Noon	43 The Kitchen
19 A Glimpse of the Administration Building	44 The Great Refrigerator in the Restaurant
20 The Administration Building from the Pergola	45 Sunken Garden and Pergola
21 Lobby of the Administration Building	46 The Fountains and Garden
22 Mail Opening and Mail Auditing Departments	47 The Greek Pergola
23 Making a Record of the Customer’s Order	48 The Training School
24 The Routing Department	49 Fire Department Drill
25 Writing Letters to Customers	50 A Corner in the Employe’s Hospital

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Sears Catalog
1908 Fall Catalog No. 118

Cameras & Photographic Supplies, Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Circa 1909

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Aerial view of the complex
2016